The Red and the Grey
by A. J. F. Link
Summary: Our past experiences, memories, and relationships form every person into who he or she is today. However, it is the individuals who a person shares experiences, forms memories, and creates relationships that affect the person the most. Follow Lupalin, a lupine inverted-anthropomorphic human being, as he seeks to form a new future and leave his dark and painful past behind him.
1. Prologue: A Rough Beginning

The Red and the Grey

A. J. F. Link

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**Disclaiming Notification: This story a radical reinvention of the story Little Red Riding Hood. I hold no legal claim or ownership of the fairy tale story or any alterations or versions of the story, excluding the following story. Plagiarism of this story or any version or alteration of Little Red Riding Hood may be classified as a violation of the United States Copyright Act.**

**Reader's Notification: All hateful and/or rude comments and/or character pairing suggestions (especially harem, homosexual, and bisexual pairings) will be _fully_ disregarded by the author. Chapters may be edited and/or updated to correct grammatical errors or mistakes if needed.**

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Prologue: A Rough Beginning

My name is Lupalin. I am an inverted-anthropomorphic human he-wolf. In other words, I am a regular human being with a wolf's tail (which is a deep hue of gray) that is biologically attached to my human tailbone, ears (which are on top of my head but are slightly hidden under my thick black hair), and vertically slit pupils with irises that are a rich dark blue in color.

Regardless of the fact that I am a human being, everyone in the village that I _used to live in_ treated me as if I was some fiendish creature of the dark or a blood-lustful, hungry wolf that could tear them limb-by-limb without hesitation. Because of this, I was abused and maimed by the villagers on random occasions. I ran away when I was thirteen years old because the problem with the villagers got so bad that my parents got sick and tired of defending me that they started to abuse and maim me also.

I am now seventeen years old and live alone in a non-human populated wooded area. Well, that is not entirely true. An old woman lives in the middle of the woods in an old, one-story, bricked house by herself. It was never my intention to meet her or even interact with her.

One day, I was looking around for food to forage but was very unsuccessful at finding any, except for three apples that I found by random chance. Happening to be going by the old lady's house, I saw that there was corn, tomatoes, strawberries, and other harvestable food in her garden. I stopped a few meters away from the wooden fence that seemed to be the only protection for the garden. I did not want to end up confronting her, yet I was very hungry and had a concupiscence to steal some of the growing food from her garden. Right before a decision was made, the old woman showed up and saw me and I dashed behind one of the trees in the woods at a very inhuman speed.

Instead of scream, threatening, or cursing at me, she simply asked me: "Child, come out from behind that tree. I know what you look fully and you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm sorry Miss, err, Misses…."

"Mrs. Emmerelin," she answered for me. "And if you hungry and really needed something to eat, why didn't you just ask me? I would have been more than happy to offer you some food."

"Well," I said hesitantly before continuing, "I was afraid that you were going to run away from me scream in terror or that you would try to murder me because of my wolf-like physical features. That was what people did to me in the village that I used to live in, including my parents."

"You poor child!" Mrs. Emmerelin exclaimed. "I will promise to never do such heartless things to you…. What is your name?"

"L-Lupalin" I stated very nervously, not expecting how she would react or what her next choice of words to be.

"Well then, Lupalin, would you want to live with me? If you do, I promise that I'll never hurt you like those uncaring villagers ever did."

I agreed and now I am currently living with her. She is basically considers herself to be my surrogated mother, yet keeps wanting me to address her as Liz. Anyways, Elizabeth taught me a lot of things that I never got a chance to learn before. It is surprising how much she recollects for someone her age. Anyways, that was the past, and this is now.


	2. Chapter I: Lilia

The Red and the Grey

A. J. F. Link

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**Disclaiming Notification: This story a radical reinvention of the story Little Red Riding Hood. I hold no legal claim or ownership of the fairy tale story or any alterations or versions of the story, excluding the following story. Plagiarism of this story or any version or alteration of Little Red Riding Hood may be classified as a violation of the United States Copyright Act.**

**Reader's Notification: All hateful and/or rude comments and/or character pairing suggestions (especially harem, homosexual, and bisexual pairings) will be _fully_ disregarded by the author. Chapters may be edited and/or updated to correct grammatical errors or mistakes if needed.**

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Lupalin's current age: 18 years old

Chapter I: Lilia

"Lupalin," Liz shouted from the kitchen, "I want you to go down the path that leads away from the house. You are going to meet a girl on her way her named Lilia. She is usually called by her nickname, Red because of the color of her riding hood and her crimson red hair; however, I would prefer if you didn't call her Red. Anyways, when you meet her, escort her here; she is my granddaughter."

"But why me?" I asked her "Won't she just run away screaming or try to kill me or something just like other humans have in the past?"

The old woman raised an eyebrow at me with her eyes reflecting offense from what I have said.

"Lupalin!" Liz said in an appalled tone, which startled me, "Have you forgotten that you are as human as anyone else, only with extra physical traits? Also, am I not kind to you?"

"Yes, Liz, and I am extremely thankful for that, but that does not mean this granddaughter of yours will accept me for who I am rather than my extra physical attributes." I counter.

Liz looks sadly at me. " I know Lupalin." She walks up to me and gently pats the top of my head. "Yet, if there is one thing that I know about Lilia, it's that she has a very sweet and kind heart and never judges people that she meets." The old woman gives me a comforting smile. "Just give her a chance, Lupalin."

"Alright, Liz, I go escort, Lilia here." I answered in a shy tone, yet one also filled with minute distrust and anxiety.

I dash out of the front door and down the path away from Liz's house. It is autumn and the deciduous trees in the woods around Elizabeth Emmerelin's house are displaying their scenic leaves of red, yellow, and orange. I find the sensation of being in nature to be calming, relaxing, and joy-bring. I love the sights, sounds, and scents that the natural landscape radiates.

Suddenly, I catch a smell in the wind of some bakery goods. Although I have never been to one, the smell is very distinct. Because of my lupine traits, my senses are all heightened above that of any plain human. Regardless, the smell of bakery goods means that either I am very close to human civilization (which is not likely considering I have not travelled far from Elizabeth's house) or someone with bakery goods is heading in my direction.

I look ahead on the path in front of me to find someone approaching my current location. Acting out of instinct, I quickly hide behind the first biggest tree that I see on my left. The crescendo sound of leaves crackling under someone's footsteps is heard as he or she approaches closer. When the sound is at its apex of loudness, it stops abruptly.

I peek carefully to see who is there and what he or she is doing. What I see made me feel like my heart skipped a beat. It is a girl; most likely the same age as me, with stunning lapis-blue irises, slightly tanned white skin, not much shorter than me, and a red riding hood, which hid her long obsidian-black hair, of which is mostly hidden by her red hood, with long dark navy blue jeans. _This is Lilia, Liz's granddaughter!_ This said girl is currently looking towards me. Acting instinctually, again, I duck behind the tree again.

"Hmm? Was that a dog?" The girl asks herself. "Come here doggy. Come here. I'm not going to hurt you." She says in a sweet voice; however, that is not what sticks in my mind. I feel as if my dignity was insulted by being called out to like some domesticated canine.

"Grrr! I'm not a dog!" I exclaim.

"WHO'S THERE!?" She quickly pulls out a long dagger, which I did not notice early.

"NO! NO! NO! SHE HAS A KNIFE!" I shout as my body begins to shack and tremble out of fear as a curl myself into a ball with my face on my knees. Tears started to fall from my eyes. To make matters worse for me, I catch the scent of Lilia right in front of me. I look up to find her looming over me with a perplexed look on her face.

"STAY AWAY!" I attempt to move away from her. Her perplexed facial expression would have calmed me down if she did not still have a dagger in her hand.

_I'm going to die at the hands with this young woman! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS!_

Suddenly, I feel something warm embracing my body and a hand stroking my back gently and caringly. "Shh. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." I look instinctually at the origination of the voice to find Lilia hugging me in an attempt to bring comfort, which she does. I rapidly calm down and hug her in return. After what seems like an eternity, she breaks the embrace and gives me a hand to stand up, which I take.

She smiles at me before giving me a confused and curiosity-filled look. "Why did you think that I was going to hurt you?"

"I-I saw you pull out a dagger and reacted out of impulse. Let's just say I did not have a desired childhood."

"Oh." She looks away with a blush.

"Y-You're n-not scared of me because of my lupine tail and ears. Are you?"

"What are y—Oh my goodness! They look so cute on you!" Lilia walks up to me and scratches my ears then pets my tail, causing me to sigh happily. After a few minutes of this awkward and unexpected scenario, Lilia stops.

"What's your name?"

"Lupalin. Um, what's your name?"

"I'm Lilia. However, some people call me Red. Is there any reason why you're here, Lupalin?"

"Yes, I came from Elizabeth Emmerelin's and I'm here to escort you the rest of the way there."

"Alright." She smiles with happiness and excitement as she grabs her basket (i.e. a second thing I did not notice she had earlier) and puts her knife away. Lilia's right hand firmly grasps my left as she holds her basket full of bakery goods in her left. "Let's go!" She exclaims eagerly as I simply nod to her and we walk hand-in-hand to her grandmother's house.


	3. Chapter II: An Unusual Day

The Red and the Grey

A. J. F. Link

**Disclaiming Notification: This story a radical reinvention of the story Little Red Riding Hood. I hold no legal claim or ownership of the fairy tale story or any alterations or versions of the story, excluding the following story. Plagiarism of this story or any version or alteration of Little Red Riding Hood may be classified as a violation of the United States Copyright Act.**

**Reader's Notification: All hateful and/or rude comments and/or character pairing suggestions (especially harem, homosexual, and bisexual pairings) will be **_**fully**_** disregarded by the author. Chapters may be edited and/or updated to correct grammatical errors or mistakes if needed.**

Chapter II: An Unusual Evening

As Lilia and I walk with our hands intertwined to her grandmother's house, the only conversation up until now is the chirping of the birds as well as the occasional fox or wolf howling in the distance and the sounds of other animals. I think that I can trust Lilia; however, my early horrendous childhood experiences of betrayal still cause me to have some sentimental thoughts about Lilia. _Can I actually trust Lilia? Can we possibly even be friends?_

"Lupalin!" The sudden, loud exclamation startles me out of my daydreaming to find Lilia giving me a worried yet slightly annoyed look.

"S-Sorry! I guess I was in a daze." I state innocently.

Lilia simply gives me a cute smile. "That is alright, Lupalin. I just happen to ask you a question when your mind was obviously somewhere else."

_Why is she so nice to me?_

"So, um, what were trying to ask me?"

She looks with a very serious gaze. "I wanted to know why you were so frightened when you first saw me?"

I abruptly stop walking forcing Lilia to stop with me. I break my grip from Lilia's, fold my arms, and look away from her. "Let's just say that I've had an _extremely_ bad childhood before I met your grandmother. When you pulled that knife out of self-defense, I reacted out of fear and instinctually because of my own m-memories." I can _vividly_ remember those horrendous memories clearly within my mind. The other kids, their parents, the whole community, and even my own blood-related parents _hated _and called me a _demon_ solely because of my lupine inverted-anthropomorphic physical characteristics.

I close my eyes hoping that these horrifying thoughts would simply just go into oblivion. In my heart I feel the cold caressing of isolationism, loneliness, and abandonment grow in intensity try to overwhelm my mind with feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. I want to cry but the tears never come.

I feel an unfamiliar warmth that suddenly embraces me tightly. My eyes open to find Lilia hugging me from behind me burying her face into my back with her arms around me in a tight hold.

"I-I'm sorry, Lupalin." Lilia whispers in a sad tone.

_Maybe I can trust her._ I remove her arms from around me and turn around to face her. She looks at me directly in my eyes with teary eyes. "Lilia, you do not need to apologize to me. All right?"

She nods while rubbing the away the forming tears from her eyes. Then, Lilia gives me a cheerful smile. "Can we be friends, Lupalin?"

This catches me completely by surprise. "What?"

"Do you want to be friends?" I shift my gaze away from her.

"I never had any f-friends…" After these words leave my lips, I am nearly tackled to the ground by Lilia as she gives me a highly affectionate hug.

"Then, I will be your first friend!" Your eyes suddenly dart to my swaying tail. Her left hand reaches out in an attempt to grab my lupine tail; however, I quickly grab her hand before it touches my tail.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing…"

"It does not seem like nothing. Are you trying to grab my tail?" I give her a playfully accusing look causing to blush out of slight embarrassment.

"Yeah…"

"Never grab my tail." Her expression turns into one of disappointment. "However," She perks up at this. "I do not mind if you pet or touch my tail." With this implied permission, she gingerly strokes my lupine tail earning a content canine-like whine from me. Lilia simply giggles cutely at this reaction that she is able to arise from me.

I hear faintly the sound of a pack of wolves howling in the distance. Instinctively, I want to howl back to them; however, I simple ignore the desire. This indicates that the day will soon be turning from evening to dusk.

"Lilia."

"Yes, Lupalin?" She asks while still stroking my tail and now deciding to scratch behind my ears. This only makes it more difficult to focus at the task at hand.

"You can stop now." She hesitantly stops what she is doing and looks up at the sky.

"Wow! It's getting dark faster than I expected!" She very swiftly links my left arm with her right arm. "Good thing that my big bad wolf of a friend is protecting me." She giggles at her little joke causing me to chuckle with her.

"Haha! Yeah, we better get going before it gets dark." Well it would be dark for her since her eyes are not able to see as well in the dark as mine.

"Right!"

We continue on our path towards Lilia's grandmother's house with a faster pace of walking knowing that we are almost to the establishment. However, I cannot help to notice the distinct sound of the pack of wolves howling seems closer than earlier. In my mind, I am praying to the Creator that their closer proximity to us is merely a coincidence. To my misfortune, the howling grows only both louder and louder and closer and closer. My instincts are screaming at me to run as fast as possible. However, the dilemma to this situation is that I also need to protect Lilia, which means that I will not be able to outrun these wolves. However, if I was alone, I could easily escape them.

"Lilia! Run!"

"From wha—ACK!" There was no time to explain to her so started running forward pulling Lilia with me. Out of the corner of my eyes, I spot the pack of wolves pursuing us from behind. I can see Liz's house ahead only to have three dart and stand in front of our path forcing me to abruptly halt along with Lilia. The wolves form a circle around us, blocking any means of escaping unscathed. They growl and bark at us. I instinctively embrace Lilia in a highly protective manner in an attempt to prevent any these wolves from harming her. Lilia is trembling and crying out of fear.

_The wolves around here never attack humans before nightfall. What is going on?_ My concern, however, is not dire for this dilemma. I give a very guttural growl that is distinctly wolf-like and very loud. This scares the wolves and makes them become silent. Some members of the pack even take several steps backwards. Then, a silver furred grey wolf that is slightly bigger and more intimidating than the rest of the pack takes several steps towards Lilia and me.

"_GRRR! What's wrong with you mutts?! Afraid of a couple of…hu…mans?"_ The wolf (who is probably the alpha of the pack) gives me a very perplexed expression while slightly crooking his head. Yes, I can understand canine speech thanks to being part wolf, which also enables me to communicate with them.

"_Alpha, I can assure you that my friend here and I are indeed humans."_

The alpha wolf literately jumps backwards a couple of feet while all the other wolves give a confused whine. _"WHAT?! YOU CAN UNDERSTAND US?!"_

"_Yes, I can understand you fully, alpha. Now, why are you and your pack trying to attack me and my friend?"_

The alpha looks to the ground with a guilty look upon his face. _"Well, we would be hunting animals like deer and rabbits; however, some humans (I think they call themselves lumberjacks) have recently started to cut down trees in the part of the forest where we usually hunt. They have scared the deer and rabbits away. Now, my pack is finding it difficult to ensure that we are able to eat and provide enough food for the young ones."_

"_That still does not explain why you attempted to attack us. YOU ARE NOT PLANNING TO KILL AND EAT US! ARE YOU?!"_

"_NO! More like maim you so we could have that food in that thing the girl possesses."_

"_Wait! So, all you want is the basket full of bakery goods. You know there is no meat in the basket, right?"_

"_Of course I know that! You dare insult my nose? Regardless, it smells like there is enough to give to each member of my pack. I'll make a deal with you. You give me the, um, basket and we will let you and your friend continue on your journey. What do you think?"_

"_That seems like a fair deal."_ I look at Lilia who is no longer trembling or crying but dumbfound and very confused. "Lilia, can you give me your basket?"

"Um, sure. Why?"

"They want it."

"Oh…" She hands me the basket and I take it and set it in front of the alpha wolf who grabs onto the handle with his jaw. He gives us a slight nod-like gesture before he and his pack desert us.

"What just happened?" Lilia simply asks me.

"I talked to the alpha and he offered to leave us be if I gave him your basket."

"So, the only reason you understood him is because you are part wolf."

I scratch the back of my neck nervously. "Exactly." I look at the sky and notice that it is already nighttime. "Let's get inside and go to bed."

Lilia smiles at me. "I fully agree with that."

We arrive at the front door and I knock the door a couple of times. A few seconds pass before Liz opens the door. She walks over to us and gives us a tight hug. "Where have you two been?!" She does not seem angry as she says this. Instead, she seems to be very concerned.

"Grandma," Lilia interjects, "can we talk about this in the morning about this. Lupalin and me are pretty tired from our trip here."

Liz looks at Lilia and me very cynically. "Alright! However, I expect you two to tell me everything tomorrow."

Suddenly, a revelation dawned upon me. Where is Lilia going to sleep? There are only two beds in the house. "Liz, where is Lilia going to be sleeping?"

Liz gives me an old, mischievous grin. "Well, she is going to be sleeping with you." Lilia and I blush very deeply at this as we glance at each other. "However, if you have a problem with that we can simply just discuss about your trip here. I'm sure it will take only a couple of hours."

Lilia and I simply glare at Liz while she continues to give a falsely innocent smile. Lilia and I walk to the bedroom. I am too tired to think seriously or deeply enough about the predicament upon Liz has put Lilia and me. She appears to be as tired as me. We do not bother getting proper sleeping attire. I take my shoes off and get under covers, while Lilia takes off her shoes and gets under the cover with me and hugs me affectionately and I hug her also. She is the first to fall into sleep. I am then lured and relaxed into sleep by Lilia's sleep-filled breathing.

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**A/N: This story is classified under the status of writer's limbo. In other words, updates for this story are uncertain due to current focus being placed upon one or more other unrelated stories. I am not given up on this story; however, currently, I am more concerned about Burned &amp; Frozen and The Elementals (from Burned &amp; Frozen) than The Red and the Grey. Nevertheless, this story will not be abandoned or discontinued. Rather, I am uncertain as to how the story should continue from here.  
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